I've always been one of those peeps who sleeps in more often than not so when you've seen me highlight an amazing breakfast? It's pretty much been more like brunch for me....until now. Seems pregnancy hormones not only have me up throughout the night but have me up bright and early with no hope for catching any extra Z's. So, yesterday I did what any hungry vegan with some morning time on her hands would, I cracked open Veganomicon and finally made a brunch dish (for breakfast!) that I'd been eyeing, the Tofu Florentine. Mine's served with some herbed potatoes rather than the steak fries as all we had was red potatoes in the pantry.
Having just polished off some of the leftovers this morning I gotta say....this stuff is Sooooooooooo Gooooooood! I love the tanginess of the braising liquid for the tofu and am totally smitten with the nooch sauce. All in all? a perfect meal!
So, if you're not fortunate enough to live in the warmer climates through the winter months (I know, I know some people actually even like snow! crazy!), grab your copy of the 'con and warm yourself up with this sunshine on a plate some sleepy weekend morning. You'll be so glad you did!
18 comments:
Yum. Definitely a sunshiney plate to me. I've been contemplating my next breakfast... this might win.
I'm loving the warm weather too... I'm only slightly sad that it's too warm to make soup, but not enough to want it to change!
oh mon dieu!! That looks so good!
I want to make that sooo badly but my husband has this weird thing about spinach. I should just make it for myself and make him jealous. :P
That looks delicious!!
Your sunshine-y photos make me forget all about the falling snow outside my window. I wonder if I can click my heels and land on the Florida beach...(with a plate of Tofu Florentine in my hands).
episcopollyana - i am currently shoveling forkfuls of the leftovers in my mouth sans spinach but with a substitution of broccoli i have from last night. it's super yummy and a fine sub!
if i didn't already have breakfast/brunch plans this weekend, this would be made!
OHMAN, that looks good.
wow, that dish could DEFINITELY brighten anyone's day - looks terrific!!
Ooh, I can't wait to try this, it sounds so good. Nice pics too.
I have to thank you b/c I showed your gorgeous pics to my husband and that was enough to talk him into trying this dish at last. This was so good and yay, there's enough left over for lunch tomorrow. He even liked the spinach, it's a freaking miracle.
Wish I could have some of your weather too, but oh well, LOL.
ooh, that does look yummy! I've been thinking about making it, but never quite gotten around to it for some reason.
I just stumbled upon your blog and I'm happy I did! Your food looks wonderful.
I have been eyeballing that recipe in Veganomicon and your lovely pictures are making me think that I should really give this a try sometime soon.
You are really lucky to be enjoying such nice weather! I am jealous! They are calling for snow here in Mid-Missouri over the next couple of days, so no warm mornings for enjoying such a nice brunch in my neck of the woods!
I will definetly be coming back to read your blog, everything looks so good!
Oh, that is glorious! I would totally wake up for that.
I've only made it once, and it's time I broke treated myself again...
Hi! Love the blog, rarely comment. I have a question though which I hope you do not mind answering- although if it is too personal, please just ignore it! I fell pregnant about 2-3 months after I went vegan. The absolute vitriol I have been subjected to by my mother, my health worker, friends etc has been astonishing, and absolutely scary. have you had anything like this? How do you cope? I need advice, because right now all I keep coming back to is that it is MY business. I am too exhausted to keep arguing.
I love your blog, keep up the great work!
Hey anon, thanks so much for posting your question. I think it's an important issue that vegans face. I totally have felt your pain, as I'm sure a myriad of other pregnant vegans have as well. Currently, I am fortunate enough to be surrounded by supportive family members (they took a little educating) and happen to have an OB who didn't even blink when I told him was vegan. In fact, he heard what I'd said, looked up and said, 'Huh! I think you're my first one! Good for you! Do you need a nutritionist? No? ok, well, if you find you feel you do just let me know and I'll be happy to refer you.' He hasn't brought it up since.
As for those in my life who provided a persistant barage of concern about my choices in the beginning....I admit my first response was to get very angry, then even find that I would begin to doubt myself, which would make me even more furious. None of this is good for the mom-to-be or the baby, as we all well know. So I took a deep breath and remembered 1) these people are only coming at me in this way because they care, are concerned, and want to help, they just don't realize they're not helping but hurthing me and 2)I, however, have educated myself before becoming vegan and can share with them what I know to quell their fears...and if that's not enough I am the parent in this situation and I will be forced to have them either trust and respect my wishes or I will be forced to distance myself from them.
I can't recommend Becoming Vegan enough. It is such an amazing wealth of information on nutritional needs of all people, and is brilliant at breaking down how being vegan is not only ok, but a truly smart choice. The section on pregnant vegans is detailed, thorough and full of facts that you can share with concerned loved ones and doctors. You can even go so far as to combine what you learn there with your meal plan (I found making one not only provided me a way to share with others how wonderful my diet was but also help quell my own fears about getting enough of everything) to best provide information about how seriously confident you are in your decision to be vegan.
Also, prenatal vitamins are equally important. I have found that Maxi Prenatal Vitamin, and DHA support by Country Life are not only full of everything a growing vegan will need (including things like iodine which often gets overlooked) but are easy to tolerate as you take them three times a day, giving your body a chance to absorb what you need rather than just some and expell the remainder. You can ask your healthcare provider to have bloodwork done every few months to double check your iron, if you feel that will help you or your practitioner be more comfortable as well.
You know as well as I do that your body does not need meat or dairy or eggs, it just needs certain nutrients. It is your job to aquire them in the levels that you and your baby need. Once armed with the knowledge of those levels and their appropriate vegan sources, you can't go wrong!
I hope this helps. I cannot stress how highly I value both the resource Becoming Vegan has been to me (there honestly is a lack in good sources of info but this book totally makes up for it. the nutritional yeast salad dressing recipe alone will make you uber confident about being a vegan mom) and the supplimental prenatal vitamins that make me feel good about what I'm supplying my growing little girl.
I should also say this, should you find that your life due to work, school, schedule or anything else makes it just too hard to become vegan right now (it does require adequate planning and assembling what you ened) know that it is ok to choose what you want to do for you and your baby and you dont' have to feel bad about it. though i did not expound upon it in my blog (yet, I have been meaning to but regret is a powerful thing) i did find myself out of town on a couple of occasions where i had no options other than including nonvegan items into my diet. for the well-being of my baby in an environment that had no other alternatives i did what i had to do and don't apologize for it. it's hard for me because i feel like i'd become that vegan that would judge others for doing the same until it happened to me. now it is a reminder that we are all human and do the best we can with what we've got.
i hope this all helps. please feel free to comment any time if you have a question or just need someone to talk to. my email is tree-hugger@embarqmail.com.
oh, and....
congratulations!!!!!
that sure does look sun shiney! i'll have to try this on some lazy weekend.
Yum! That looks amazing!
Thank you for both the lovely photographs of Tofu Florentine (can't wait to try that from Veganomicon tomorrow morning), but also for your thoughtful response on pregnancy and veganism. We are hoping to get pregnant and many people have told me I'm too skinny or I don't eat meat or some such nonsense and I will have to eat meat, eggs, and milk in order to get pregnant and have a healthy baby. Sure, veganism or vegetarianism takes more work and attention to protein and vitamins than eating a steak or piece of fish for dinner, but if you love food and cooking like I do, it's only occassionally a drag. Just last night, I mused that working interferes with my cooking!
Bon Appetit,
Heather
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